http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/country/nigeria.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/health-news/33151-expert-links-tobacco-use-to-cancers-of-the-mouth http://tobacco.org/news/330898.html Former Chief Medical Director (CMD), Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Professor Onatolu Odukoya, has urged Nigerians to be wary of tobacco use, irrespective of its form, due to its strong link with cancers of the mouth. Professor Odukoya, who gave the charge at a valedictory lecture to mark the sent-forth of Professor Jonathan Lawoyin, at the College of Medicine, University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, declared that evidences indicate that tobacco, whether in the form of snuff, cigar or cigarette, contained a cancer-causing substance called nitrosamine. Unfortunately, he stated that a lot of nitrosamine was present in palm wine, thus the need for Nigerian researchers to verify whether drinking palm wine could lead to individuals having cancers of the mouth. Professor Odukoya, who described cancers of the mouth as the sixth commonest type of cancer worldwide, stated “tobacco alone might not be linked with oral cancer in Nigeria, we should endeavour to do more studies that will establish a strong association between oral cancer and other causative factors of cancer.” Nigerian Tribune Nigeria Thu, 22 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://pmnewsnigeria.com/2011/12/13/cpc-cautions-firm-over-sub-standard-cigarette/ http://tobacco.org/news/330453.html The Consumer Protection Council (CPC) has drawn the attention of Leaf Tobacco & Commodities (Nig.) Limited to the circulation of a sub-standard cigarette, Peterfield Special Menthol Cigarette, believed to be its product circulating in Nigerian markets, a statement signed by the Deputy Director (Public Relations), CPC, Abiodun Obimuyiwa, has said. CPC, in a letter to the managing director of the company, alleged that the cigarette currently circulating in the country has failed labelling requirements, making it to be suspect for consumption by consumers. According to the letter, “Samples of the said cigarette, which supposedly belongs to your company, show among others, that the pack has no best before dates, there is no number on the NIS logo, which indicates non- certification of the product and the address on the pack is not the same as the factory address.” The CPC letter stated: “The fact is that the absence of these features constitutes gross violation of the labelling requirements for cigarette products in Nigeria”, adding that “we are by this letter requesting you to explain to the Council within seven (7) days of the date of this letter” why necessary sanctions should not be applied. P.M. News Nigeria Nigeria Tue, 13 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://www.rnw.nl/africa/article/africans-going-dutch-part-nine-dutch-smoking http://tobacco.org/news/330274.html When the subject is smoking, many unfair things are being said about the Dutch and about Holland. Many think Dutch people start smoking at a too young age, and smoke too much. . . . if the Dutch people smoke too much, it is because the Dutch smoking law is too restrictive. In Holland, you can't recline during a long-distance train ride and enjoy a cigarette. You can't even hide in a train toilet to smoke. You cannot smoke in public transport vehicles, even if you are the only passenger in the bus. And you cannot smoke in public buildings. You must wait until you find a 'rookzone' (dedicated smoking zone) before you can satisfy your itches. So what do folks do when they go to the smoking zone? They smoke much more and much faster than they normally would, because they never know when they will find the next smoking zone. The situation in Nigeria is very different. There was an anti-smoking decree and there is a smoking policy, but, as it is with many Nigerian laws, these are toothless. There are 'no smoking' signs in many places, but no one respects them. . . . they also don't smoke in the hospital wards - only the doctor does that. In spite (or as a result) of this, fewer Nigerians than Dutch are smokers. Radio Netherlands Nigeria Netherlands Fri, 09 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/news/28356-concerns-over-jonathan%E2%80%99s-failure-to-sign-tobacco-control-bill.html http://tobacco.org/news/329766.html Tosin Adeyanju, an undergraduate student, has been on hospital bed for three months for tobacco-related disease. She said cigarette smoking made her lose weight considerably. Before she was admitted in the hospital, she ate less and smoked at least 10 sticks every day. According to Tosin, she preferred smoking to eating. Lanre Onigbongi, a medical doctor at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, said this is one of the myths associated with smoking. . . . Another deleterious effect of the tobacco industry in Nigeria is the issue of youth markets. Today, Nigeria is one of the largest markets for tobacco products in Africa. Statistics show that youths form over 40 per cent of the Nigerian population and 20 per cent of the youths smoke. According to a tobacco control activist, Dr Olusegun Owotomo, statistics show that about 93 million sticks of cigarettes produced yearly in Nigeria are consumed by smokers. He said between 150,000 and 300,000 children under 18 months get respiratory infections, such as pneumonia and bronchitis from second-hand smoke. The harmful effects of tobacco led Senator Olorunimbe Mamora and ERA/FOEN to collaborate on a law to control the tobacco industry. The law was passed six months ago by the National Assembly, but has remained unsigned since then. Analysts are of the view that Nigerians are the worse for it. Mamora and Akinbode said the president must sign the bill or give reasons why he has not assented it. Addressing a news conference in Lagos yesterday, Akinbode said Nigeria has failed to set a leadership role for the rest of Africa. Will Jonathan heed the call or allow the industry operate almost unregulated? Time will tell. The Nation Nigeria Fri, 02 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://www.businessdayonline.com/NG/index.php/news/latest/30416-era-urges-jonathan-to-speedily-sign-tobacco-control-bill http://tobacco.org/news/329746.html Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to speedily sign the National Tobacco Control Bill forwarded to him for assent by the National Assembly, a move which it says will check the rising death toll resulting from tobacco consumption in the country. The comprehensive bill, sponsored by Senator Olorunimbe Mamora, was on May 31, 2011 passed by the sixth session of the National Assemby, and seeks to regulate the manufacture, sale and marketing of tobacco products in Nigeria. It however requires the president's approval before it can be fully enforceable. Speaking with newsmen yesterday at a press briefing which held in Lagos, Akinbode Oluwafemi, director, corporate accountability and administration, ERA/FoEN, said the time had come for the nation to enact laws that would protect present and future generations from the harm caused by multinationals driven by profit rather than the protection of life. "The consequences of not doing the right thing are dire, especially for a developing country like ours," BusinessDAY Nigeria Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/news/30130-cpc-uncovers-circulation-of-sub-standard-cigarette-warns-consumers-of-health-implications http://tobacco.org/news/327888.html THE Consumer Protection Council (CPC) has uncovered the circulation of a sub-standard cigarette, Pine Classic, in Nigerian markets, warning consumers to be wary of its consumption. According to a statement from the council, the imported cigarette had been found to have fallen short of labelling requirements expected of all cigarettes meant for consumption in Nigeria . The statement disclosed that the cigarette had no production and expiry dates, neither did it have manufacturer’s address, conditions that are all mandatory for all cigarette products meant for Nigerian markets. Similarly, the council said that the Nigeria Industrial Standards (NIS) mark could not be found on the pack of the cigarette. Nigerian Tribune Nigeria Mon, 24 Oct 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/the-president-and-the-tobacco-control-bill/99327/ http://tobacco.org/news/326701.html In most countries, because of the health hazard it poses, there are stringent laws against tobacco but not so in Nigeria. Yet tobacco remains the leading cause of preventable deaths all over the world. . . . The tobacco lobby, however, remains formidable, as the tobacco industry is extremely wealthy, powerful and influential. In Nigeria (as in most developing countries), tobacco companies remainvirtually unregulated and is ironically listed as a food and beverage item at the stock exchange. Children and youth are their main targets because research has demonstrated that majority of smokers pick up the habit at a relatively young age. So major social events get supported by big tobacco, where cigarettes are given away freely to the young to get them addicted. Their foundations give handsome donations to various noble causes to validate their profitability; but along with that comes the right to continue to stealthily kill our population in huge numbers. Instructively, many of the tobacco companies in the West have virtually closed down, essentially due to the awareness of the health hazards associated withtobacco, prohibitive costs and strict regulation. Yet, our own countries, eager for ‘foreign direct investment’, actively embrace these companies, granting them waivers, concessions and subsidies to attract them to our shores. But with this ‘investment’ come the death and disease that would necessarily accompany it. . . . To curtail the imminent tobacco epidemic, the National Tobacco Control Bill was created in 2008 and passed by the Senate on March 15, 2011, 25 months after its initial presentation. The Bill has received concurrent passage from the House of Representatives and currently awaits presidential assent. The Bill, when it eventually becomes law, would protect children from being exposed to tobacco smoke; would prohibit every form of advertisement of tobacco products which may encourage children to begin to smoke, as well as the sale of tobacco to and by minors. Specific designated nonsmoking areas have been listed as no-go areas, especially places where children and youth converge. We believe that a responsible government owes its citizens the duty to protect their rights to life and good health, which is what this Bill seeks to promote. We therefore call on President Goodluck Jonathan to, as a matter of urgency, assent to the National Tobacco Control Bill. This Day Nigeria Mon, 26 Sep 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/your-health/28619-second-hand-smoke-causes-asthma-bronchitis-in-children http://tobacco.org/news/326568.html A study, which was headed by Steven S. Hecht, a professor at The Cancer Centre, University of Minnesota, published in the May issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, looked at the level of nitrosamine (NNAL) in the urine of 144 infants exposed to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). . . . Second-hand smoke, according to Dr Femi Fabiyi, a paediatric surgeon, is a known cause of low birth weight, pneumonia, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), middle ear infection, asthma, bronchitis, and other diseases. . . . “In the United States of America alone, where the poverty level is not as high as Nigeria, it has been estimated that between 35,000 and 62,000 non-smoking American adults die of heart disease associated with secondhand smoke every year, how much more in Nigeria,” Dr Fabiyi lamented. “With more sensitive analytical equipment, the NNAL from urine of babies in lower frequency cigarette smoking households would most likely be detectable. The take home message is, don’t smoke around your kids.” Hecht said. Parents need to shield their children from tobacco smoke, Dr Funke Oluwaseun, a paediatrician with Life Hospital, Ibadan, Oyo State says. Children who are exposed to second-hand smoke are known to have behavioural problems, she says, adding that children delivered by mothers who are exposed to second-hand smoke during pregnancy has a higher tendency to exhibit aggression, hyperactivity, attention deficit disorder, and other behavioural problems. Dr Oluwaseun complains that infants with smoking mothers are 50 per cent more likely to be hospitalised with a respiratory infection during their first year, compared to infants with non-smoking mothers. Nigerian Tribune Nigeria Fri, 23 Sep 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://dailytimes.com.ng/article/law-barring-public-smoking-now-jonathan http://tobacco.org/news/325751.html The National Tobacco Control Bill has been sent to President Goodluck Jonathan for assent. The four-year old bill which is expected to introduce firm regulation on smoking and tobacco use, left the National Assembly on Tuesday, a source said. "We sent the bill yesterday (Tuesday)," said an official of the National Assembly's legal unit who spoke on anonymity because the official was not authorised to speak on the issue. Introduced in 2007 as a House of Representatives bill, the legislation received a final approval of the house and the Senate early this year. With a presidential assent, Nigeria will become the 93rd nation to domesticate the document, which is founded on the World Health Organization (WHO) anti smoking policy. The Daily Times of Nigeria Nigeria Fri, 19 Aug 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://tribune.com.ng/sun/news/4911-bat-chief-harps-on-importance-of-water http://tobacco.org/news/325750.html The General Manager, British American Tobacco, West Africa, Mr Hugo Norman, has urged the people of Baba Ode in Itesiwaju Local Government of Oyo State to make the best the use of a solar-powered borehole donated to the community by the British American Tobacco Nigeria (BATN) foundation, saying the foundation decided to construct the facility in view of the importance of water to life. Nigerian Tribune Nigeria Sun, 28 Aug 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/08/tobacco-smoking-stop-the-killer-before-it-stops-you/ http://tobacco.org/news/324865.html According to an Independent Tobacco Control Activist, Dr. Olusegun Owotomo, statistics available show that about 93 million sticks of cigarette are produced yearly in Nigeria and every one of those cigarettes is consumed and that between 150,000 and 300,000 children under the age of 18 months get respiratory infections such as pneumonia and bronchitis from secondhand smoke. More than 40 per cent of children who visit the emergency room for severe asthma attacks live with smokers. Despite these dangers, efforts are checking tobacco smoking is still not significant. According to WHO, the global funding of tobacco control, is below 0 million compared to a billion for AIDS, five billion for tuberculosis and around a billion for malaria. As a result, while there has been a gradual decrease in the incidence of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, tobacco-related deaths have been on a sharp increase. . . . In a write-up, Dr. Olusegun Fakoya, anticipated a huge epidemic of tobacco-related diseases regretting that the resultant strain on public healthcare would be enormous as the majority of these smokers are poor people who have no means to access treatment themselves. Olusegun said with the pathetic state of the countryâ��s healthcare system, the impending chaos is best imagined. A big thanks to the recent passage of the National Tobacco Control Bill by the National Assembly. He said the Bill when signed by the President will be one of the ways of forestalling the inevitable doom associated with the current kid-glove approach to the unimaginable disaster associated with smoking. . . . A study on “The use of tobacco products among Nigerian adults: A general population survey” by Isidore S. Obot, Department of General and Applied Psychology, University of Jos, showed that Nigerian men smokes more than females, adding that the poor, uneducated smoke more than the relatively rich and educated. According to the study, “Smokers had a higher incidence of health problems and both nonsmokers and heavy smokers were less aware of the risk of smoking than light smokers.” The study suggested that health education should be a major component of tobacco and health policy in Nigeria. Vanguard Nigeria Sun, 14 Aug 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.businessdayonline.com/NG/index.php/news/76-hot-topic/23404-transmit-tobacco-bill-for-presidential-assent-era-tells-nass http://tobacco.org/news/322046.html The Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth (ERA/FoEN) has asked the National Assembly to immediately transmit the recently passed National Tobacco Control Bill to the Presidency for signing into law in order to save millions of lives endangered by tobacco use. In a release issued in Lagos and signed by the Director Corporate Accountability & Administration, Akinbode Oluwafemi, the group warned that failure to send the bill to the President for his signature would have negative consequences for public health in Nigeria and roll back any gains made by the passage of the bill in the first instance. BusinessDAY Nigeria Tue, 21 Jun 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/06/lasg-hails-passage-of-national-tobacco-control-bill/ http://tobacco.org/news/321158.html The Lagos State Government has given thumbs up to the concurrent passage of the National Tobacco Control Bill and set up a multi - a sectoral committee to protect non-smokers from exposure to passive smoking in the State. Giving the credit in Lagos with a call to the apex government to ensure the anti-tobacco law is operational throughout the Federation, Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr Femi Olugbile, however urged President Goodluck Jonathan to assent to the Bill and ensure the law is enforced to save millions from the dangers of active and passive smoking. Olugbile, who spoke at a press conference to mark the 2011 World No Tobacco Day in Lagos, observed the absence of definite data for tobacco-related deaths in the country, but argued that evidence fromgeneral observation of health workers in government hospitals, showed that a significant number of patients diagnosed with respiratory diseases, had tobacco related problems. In his words, Lagos State had developed comprehensive multi-sectoral measures and responses to reduce consumption of tobacco and to discourage uptake of all tobacco products to implement the campaign . Areas of intervention, he said, will include; creating awareness about tobacco and its effect, discouraging the uptake and use of tobacco among adolescents and early adults, disseminating the effects of tobacco on pregnancy and the health of mothers, protecting the non smokers and advocating for an enabling environment conducive to change. Vanguard Nigeria Tue, 07 Jun 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://allafrica.com/stories/201106010864.html http://tobacco.org/news/321017.html House of Representatives yesterday gave concurrent passage to the National Tobacco Control Bill after long years foot-dragging as part of activities to mark this year's World No Tobacco Day. It could be recalled that the National Tobacco Control Bill was passed by the Senate precisely on March 15, this year. The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the first treaty to be negotiated under the auspices of the World Health Organisation, is an evidence_based treaty that reaffirms the right of all people to the highest standard of health. It is also the first regulatory strategy to address addictive substances. The treaty entered into force in February 2006 while Nigeria signed and ratified it in 2004 and 2005 respectively. To this end, the Nigerian Heart Foundation (NHF) has appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan to immediately assent to the Bill with a view to protecting the citizens from the harmful effects of tobacco as well as save costs of medicare. All-Africa.com Nigeria Wed, 01 Jun 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/05/why-do-people-still-puff-cigar/ http://tobacco.org/news/319910.html The Federal government advised that ‘smokers are liable to die young’. This is the slogan that rings bell in your ears at the end of every cigarette advertisement on your radio or television set. But in spite of this warning, the number of smokers are on the increase in Nigeria. . . . My questions are: Why do we continue to smoke when we know smokers are liable to die young? Can the benefits of cigarettes be compared to your health and life? Why are some of the medical doctors also involved in this habit when they ought to know better? The little I know about a habit cultivated is that it is not easy discarded. But we are not talking about the easy nature of discarding this unhealthy habit; we are talking about our lives, our future and the lives of our family members. We should stop committing suicide by installment! Each time we light a cigarette and smoke, we do not only endanger our lives, but that of the people around us. Vanguard elections@vanguardngr.com ( In Dis 'N' Dart With Florence Amagiya ) Nigeria Sat, 14 May 2011 04:00:00 GMT